TCU QB Casey Pachall leaves school to enter a rehab facility

Quarterback Casey Pachall has withdrawn from TCU and will seek treatment at a drug and alcohol treatment facility, coach Gary Patterson said during his press conference Tuesday.

Pachall, who is a redshirt junior with a year of eligibility remaining, will have the opportunity to return to school in the spring and return to the program.

"We want to make sure we can make this turn into a positive," Patterson said. "Casey's parents, Casey and I, we all agreed that there was only one way to change the path he was on -- to step away from it."

Pachall was suspended last week following a Thursday arrest for driving while intoxicated. He missed the Horned Frogs' 37-23 loss to Iowa State and told former high school teammate Kenny Vacarro that he was "taking some time off to get everything together."

In July, Pachall admitted to police that he smoked marijuana and failed a team-administered drug test in February. He also admitted to trying cocaine and ecstasy. Later that February, four TCU players, including Pachall's roommate Tanner Brock, were kicked off the team following arrest for their involvement in a campus-wide drug ring.

Pachall started every game in 2011, and set records for yards and completions. Prior to his suspension, he helped the Horned Frogs to a 4-0 start.

Pachall is the second player this season to enroll in a drug rehab. Prior to fall camp, LSU star defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was dismissed from the team after failing multiple drug tests. He entered a drug rehabilitation center in Houston and is back on the LSU campus trying to finish his degree.

Patterson said he made a point to keep the door open for Pachall's return.

"It was important for me he knew he had an opportunity to come back here," Patterson said. "You have to have hope."

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